right to work

For the sake of common decency, let’s hope there’s a way to stop the fiend that is Fright to work legislation at the state and federal level. As supporters of organized labor have discovered, beating back this monster is going to take tons of courage and confidence, something that union members have always possessed in great supply.

The trees are bare, the wind is howling, the days are getting shorter and the leader of the free world has gone insane (Sorry. we couldn't resist). We’re days away from the witching hour and a dark and evil presence is approaching, making its menacing way forward as sure as any mask-wearing murderer or “Walking Dead” zombie…

Apparently Labor PACS have contributed more than $534,000 this election cycle to Republican candidates who back anti-union legislation, particularly right-to-work legislation. In an exhaustively researched article, ThinkProgress’s Jason Israel and Evan Popp detail the ins and outs of right-to-work and its negative effects on unions; provide some choice data from the trenches of the right-to-work landscape; and name some of the most powerful backers of a National Right to Work Act (namely Rand Paul, Steve King and, of course, Donald Trump).

Pence opposed a minimum wage increase in Indiana that would increase the hourly wage from $7.25 to $8.25. He voted against increasing the federal minimum wage in 2007 to $7.25 an hour (which is where the minimum wage still sits…nine years later). He repealed Indiana’s common construction wage, also known as a prevailing wage, which left contractors at the mercy of free-market pay scales. In addition, Pence signed into law a bill that prohibits local governments from requiring companies to raise the minimum wage unless ordered by the state or federal government.

It’s easy to see why some employees would be a fan of right-to-work laws. If you were getting a better-than-average paycheck and workplace rights and then were given the choice to pay for those benefits or not, what would you do?